Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Mushroom Bourguignon

Happy New Year! Here's a veggie one for those of you looking to start the year off right...
My dear friend Mary came for dinner, so I combed the internet for the best possible vegetarian recipe I could find.  I settled on Mushroom Bourguignon from Smitten Kitchen, and it was a earthy, hardy take on vegetarian that worked for Mary and my larger-than-average husband (he's 6'6".) 
While this was quite tasty the first time around, the leftovers were not great- the mushrooms became a little slimy - so I would scale this up or down to exactly what you need to cook.

Here's what I used for 5 large portions:
2 TB Olive Oil
2 TB butter, softened
2 lbs portobello mushrooms, cut into 1/4 in slices, stems discarded
1/2 carrot, finely diced
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup full-bodied red wine
2 cups beef or vegetable broth
2 TB tomato paste
1 tsp fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried
1 1/2 TB flour
1 cup pearl onions (thawed if frozen)
Egg noodles for base

Tomato Paste Tip: I was tired of buying tomato paste, using one TB and throwing the rest out after it went bad.  So I spooned the tomato paste out by the TB onto a sheet of parchment paper and laid them down in the freezer. After they were frozen, I wrapped them in plastic and popped them in a ziplock.  Now, when I need a TB of tomato paste, I can just grab one of my frozen TBs from the freezer and not feel so wasteful.
A close-up of these beautiful mushrooms and carrots post my trip to Brooklyn Kitchen for an excellent knife skills class!

 Ok, enough about the ingredients.  To get going, heat a large dutch oven (I used the 4.5 qt one that Mary's mother gave me) with one TB olive oil and one TB butter. Once those are melted together, add the mushrooms to give them a sear.  You'll want to let them turn dark brown, but take them back out of the pan before they start releasing any juices.  While I did this all in one go, it would probably be a bit easier to do in batches.
Once all the mushrooms are back out of the pan, add the second TB of olive oil and add the carrots, onion, thyme, and some salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Turn the heat down to medium and let them cook for about 10 minutes.  Add the garlic and let that cook for an additional minute.

Stand back and add the wine, making sure to scrape up any deliciousness on the bottom of the pan.  Turn the heat up and reduce until it's about 1/2 the liquid - it should take about 15 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and broth and add back the mushrooms (plus any juices that have collected in your bowl) to the pot. Let those simmer for 25 minutes.  For the last 10 minutes, add the pearl onions so they get nice and soft.
Finally, combine the flour and butter with a fork until it looks like a paste.  Add to the pot to thicken and let it cook for a final 10 minutes. Season to taste - mine needed quite a bit of salt.
Serve over egg noodles or rice and feel free to garnish with sour cream, parsley or thyme.
Enjoy!



Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Fettuccine with Creamy Sausage Tomato Sauce

Again, another long break! Work has been too busy to cook and blog.  So I have been cooking, just not blogging! I am trying to use the holidays as a chance to get caught up and clear some of these pictures out of my phone!
This was a delicious treat that I made that does NOT fall into the category of health food.  But we were both craving a delicious pasta without heading out of the apartment, so I used this recipe from Epicurious without really changing much.  It was creamy, hardy, and an excellent treat for a cold day.  It's a rare day that I cook with cream, but this was worth every calorie. 


Here's what I used:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 shallots, chopped
  • 2 large garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 pound sweet Italian sausages, casings removed
  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 2 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice with Italian seasonings
  • 1 tablespoon dried sage
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
  • 1 package of fresh fettuccine
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

I started by chopping my shallots and garlic and adding them to a hot pan with a swirl of olive oil.  I let those sweat until they were softened, about 3 minutes.

Then I added the sausage, working to break it up into small pieces with the back of a wooden spoon.  The smaller the better here, so that it can hold all the delicious sauce. It took about 10 minutes until the sausage was no longer pink in the middle.  Then it's time to add the rest of the sauce. If it looks extremely greasy here, you can use a big metal spoon to get any sausage grease out of the pan - I got about one small spoonful out before I added the rest of the sauce ingredients. 


To this, add the cream and incorporate before adding the tomatoes (make sure you crush them with your hands as you add them), the tomato juices, sage, and red pepper. Stir and incorporate, bring just to a boil, and turn the heat down to simmer for 15 minutes. 
Meanwhile, get your pasta water boiling so that you can add it at the appropriate time (8-9 min out for dry, 3 min out for fresh pasta.)  While I remembered to reserve some pasta water, I did not need to use it. Once the pasta is cooked, strain and add directly to the sauce to coat.  I like to use my silicone kitchen tongs to make sure all the pasta is evenly coated. You can add a little salt and pepper if you need to, though I did not have to add any additional salt. Instead, I topped with a little salty parmesan cheese to serve. 
Buon Appetito!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Pumpkin Waffles

Wow, I have been bad! I can't believe I haven't posted in three weeks.  I have been traveling for work, so not doing as much cooking.  But I blame a glass of wine here and there for why I haven't been posting :)

So a few weeks ago, I made some pumpkin muffins (with whole wheat flour and honey...healthy, but just...ok.)  Anyway, I had loads of leftover pumpkin.  The hubby had been working non-stop all week and had to go back in the office all day Saturday, so I decided to make him a treat before he had to go work.  I gave him the choice of pumpkin waffles or pumpkin pancakes, reeeeeaaaaally hoping he would pick the pancakes since they are easier, but he wanted waffles.  So waffles it was.

I scoured the internet looking for the perfect recipe, as I'm a waffle novice, and pumpkin in general is very dense and can be tricky to work with since it will weigh down just about any fluffy waffle recipe I could think of. And then I came upon a blog where a woman has tried over 90 recipes on the quest to make the perfect pumpkin waffle.  Perfect! I admire her dedication, as I would not be able to stick to it like she did!
http://pumpkinwaffles.wordpress.com/ultimate-pumpkin-waffle-recipe/
It was pretty perfect.  Here's what you're working towards:

I used her recipe nearly exactly.  The only thing I would change would be to add a touch more sugar the next time - AND to crank the waffle iron up to high instead of medium.  I prefer a crispier waffle, so next time I would turn that iron up!
Here's what I used:
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar (would go just under a 1/2 cup next time)
• 3 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 tsp. ginger
• 1/4 tsp. cloves
• 1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg or 1/4 tsp dried (I used dried)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and warm 


First, in a medium sized bowl, mix your dry ingredients - the brown sugar, cornstarch, flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. If you give the cornstarch and brown sugar a stir first, that will help break up the cornstach, which can stick together and get clumpy.  No one wants a cornstarch clump in their waffle! This might be a good time to preheat your waffle iron, as well.
Then separate your eggs - putting the yolks in a big bowl, and the whites straight in your mixer bowl. You can get those going until stiff peaks form (2-3 min) while you mix the pumpkin and milk into the into the yolks.

Pour the melted butter into your pumpkin mixture, stirring or whisking as you add it.

Then stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture.


Next it's time to fold in your egg whites, very carefully, so that they are just incorporated but not stirred. 

Now for the fun part! Into the waffle iron it goes. I did a light spray with cooking spray before I added the waffle batter.

I think I filled up the first one too much, because it only made 2 full waffles, but my iron has very deep pockets.

 Next time, I would probably double the recipe so I could freeze a batch!
Delicious!They were perfectly spiced, though I would prefer a touch more sugar.  I served with dried cranberries and fresh maple syrup. Enjoy!


Sunday, November 6, 2011

Whole Wheat mushroom pizza with fontina, rosemary, and truffle oil

We had the most delicious pizza when we were in Reading, PA for my cousin's wedding last weekend and I figured there was no reason I couldn't make it at home! I decided to make a healthier version, however, and ordered the whole wheat frozen pizza dough from Fresh Direct.
This was a simple one! Just preheat the oven to 500 degrees before you start. Knead the pizza dough with your hands and work on flatening it out to a round surface.  Use a bit of flour on your hands to keep it from sticking. Put a little flour down on a cookie sheet (or a pizza stone if you have one) and then put the pizza dough on top once you get a nice circle of dough.
Shred a chunk of fontina cheese or whichever cheese you prefer until you have about 3/4 cup per pizza. Put the shredded cheese on top of the dough and then add your other toppings. Chop some mushrooms - I used the gourmet blend from Fresh Direct and put onto along with some chopped rosemary. Then I drizzled with some black truffle oil that I keep on hand.
Pop the pizzas in the oven for 10-15 min until the crust looks crunchy and the cheese is melted but not browned.
Serve immediately and enjoy!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Shrimp and Bulgar Wheat with Mexican flavors

The hubs declared this dish one of his favorites I've ever made, which is high praise for something that falls in the healthy category!!  It was really easy and took no time at all.  I did a true "mise en place," meaning having everything chopped and ready ahead of time because it only takes about 15 min to cook and I didn't know when the hubs would get home from work.

I have never cooked with bulgar wheat, but thankfully I decided to give it a go with this Epicurious recipe.


Here's what I used-
Clockwise from the top:
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
3 chopped cloves of garlic
1 lime worth of juice
1 lime cut into wedges
1 red pepper, diced
2 fresh ears of corn, cut off the cob
1 lb of wild shrimp (trying to stay off farm raised seafood), shells off and deveined
and in the middle,
1 cup bulgar wheat (purchased from Fresh Direct)
and 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Start with a large pot and add a swirl of extra virgin olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the garlic and cook for 1 min.  Meanwhile, add 2 cups of water to your microwave for 2 min so that it boils.  Add the bulgar wheat to the garlic in the pot and cook for a minute or two until you can smell it getting toasted a bit.  Add about 1/2 tsp of salt as well.
Then, add the first 1/2 cup of boiling water.  Stir until the wheat has absorbed the liquid and continue adding the water a 1/2 cup at a time. After the 2 cups are incorporated, the wheat will be just slightly soupy.  This should take about 7-8 min in total.  The rest of the water will continue to be absorbed over the next few minutes.
Then add the shrimp to the pan and cook for another 3-4 minutes until the shrimp are JUST cooked. They still needed a few minutes here.
Then add the corn, red pepper, lime juice, and red pepper flakes and cook for another 2 minutes.
Finally, turn the heat off and add the cilantro and serve with a lime wedge.
This would make the easiest dinner party ever. I would prep everything before your guests arrive, and then it just needs 15 minutes to cook and voila! A Mexican flavored, healthy dish.
I would serve chips and salsa and a nice manchego cheese while guests arrived, and serve the dish with a slice of avocado on top and a crostini on the side.  It pairs beautifully with a light Sauvignon Blanc or fruity Pinot Grigio.

Monday, October 31, 2011

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with pear gravy, grilled zucchini, and roasted butternut squash basmati rice with cranberries

Whew! What a mouthful that title was! We had two friends over for dinner (last minute) and I threw together a meal with only needing a few essentials from the store.... sort-of. I had planned to make the pork tenderloin dish when my parents were in town (it's mom's favorite) but we didn't get home until late both nights! So I had the tenderloin in the freezer and pear nectar in the fridge (but who doesn't have pear nectar on hand? jk - but it was only about $1-2 from Peapod.)  The pork I adapted from Epicurious, as usual, the rest was my own creation...

I only took photos of the finished product (sorry!!) because I was trying to get the meal out in a hurry.  As it was, it was a late, late dinner!


Roasted Butternut Squash Basmati Rice with Cranberries
I was tired of plain old rice, so I decided to roast half a butternut squash while the pork was in the oven and mix it into basmati rice.  I added a few cranberries for some additional fall flavor.  Next time I'd add sage or rosemary and some chopped walnuts. Yum!
Peel a butternut squash (you can just use your vegetable peeler) and cut up the butternut squash.  This will probably take you the longest of anything, but not if you are using your knife properly! Squash is really hard to cut if you are holding your knife straight out.  If you cut at a 45 degree angle, a sharp knife should go right through the squash.  Cut in half, scoop out the inside, and dice the squash.  Put in an ovensafe baking dish and pop in the oven for about 30 min until roasted.  Stir halfway through the cooking time.
Prepare the rice according to package directions (including a bit of butter and salt) and then add the roasted squash and cranberries, stirring to incorporate.


For the pork:
3 TB olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp chopped thyme
a 2 lb pork tenderloin
3 large shallots, peeled and cut into wedges
3 unpeeled pears, quartered and cored
4 tsp butter, room temp
2 tsp flour
1 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
3/4 cup pear nectar

Preheat oven to 475.  Mix the olive oil with the garlic and thyme and rub all over the pork. Have a roasting pan or baking sheet ready but sear the pork in a skillet over high heat along with the shallots.  Make sure you heat the pan up before you try to sear the meat so that it browns up well! Sear on all sides (should take about 5 min total) and place in the pork in your roasting pan.  Place the shallots on a platter. Put the pork in the oven and cook for 10-20 min, depending on the size of your tenderloin.  A meat thermometer should read 145 degrees.

[Side note: if you do not have a meat thermometer, it is well worth the splurge.  I have the Cuisinart one that you put in the meat, put the meat in the oven and the dial sits on your counter and beeps when it's done.]

Meanwhile, add the pears to your skillet and brown.  My pears were not quite ripe, so I should have added a bit of water to the pan, put a lid on, and let them steam a bit to soften.  This generally works anytime something is not cooking as quickly as you'd like (veggies, fish, etc) and / or if the pan is getting too browned.  (For veggies or fish I usually add a little white wine instead of the water.  Serves the double purpose of deglazing the pan so it's easier to clean.) Anyway, once the pears are browned up, add them to the platter with your shallots.

Mix the butter and flour in a small cup and add to the pan along with the pear nectar and chicken broth.  Boil this until the sauce thickens up, making sure you scrape up all the delicious bits left on the pan.  This gravy is the best part!!

When the pork is done, let it rest for 5 min before you slice.  Slice and add to the platter with the pears and shallots (I accidentally roasted my shallots with the pork and they got a bit.... crispy... so I discarded.)  It was delicious!

Grilled Zuchinni

Could not be easier.  I cut three zucchinis on the diagonal (for 4 people) and put them in a bowl.  Coat with a bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper.  I had the hubby do the grilling so I could do everything else. Get a grill pan nice and hot and grill as though it's a real grill.
Grill marks and everything!

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Smoky Minestrone Soup with Tortellini and Pesto

I made a big batch of Minestrone soup when Jenna came over for dinner this week.  Very happy is was such a big batch, because I've been enjoying it all week fighting a awful cold!
I used the recipe from Food 52, almost verbatim, though I omitted the celery (thought I had some but didn't) and would sub out the kale for spinach next time. This is my second time trying to cook with kale, and I really just don't care for it that much.  If you do sub spinach, do it at the very end since spinach cooks so quickly!
Here's what you're working towards:


Here's what I used:
3 TB olive oil
2 slices of bacon, cut into small pieces
1 large onion, diced
2 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 leeks, thinly chopped (Trader Joes sells ones that are already trimmed!)
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 ribs of celery, chopped (I accidentally omitted)
1 Zucchini, diced
1 potato, or I used one small bag of mini potatoes from Trader Joes
2 cans of low sodium chicken stock
1 can of cooked chickpeas
1 28 oz. can of San Marzano tomatoes, with juice
1 cup kale, chopped fine, although next time I will use spinach
1 14 oz package of cheese tortellini
I topped it with some pesto that I made with fresh basil (basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil in a food processor) but if you can use store-bought pesto, or omit entirely.  If you omit, I would add some chopped basil in the soup for extra flavor. 

Get a large pot (I used my 3.5qt Le Creuset that my dear friends the Hausers gave me!) going with 1 TB olive oil and fry up the chopped bacon. 

Once that is good and cooked, add 2TB of olive oil and add the onion, garlic, and chopped leeks. Cook for a few minutes until they are cooked through and then add the carrot, celery, zucchini, and potatoes. Stir those for a minute or two. 
Add the chicken stock, scraping the bacon bits up from the bottom of the pot.  Then add the chickpeas and add the tomatoes one at a time by crushing them in your hands.  Make sure to add the juice from the can as well. 

Bring the soup to a boil, and then turn it to low and let it simmer for 30 mins or until the potatoes are done.  It will depend on how big the potatoes are as to when they are done. It may take 40 min. 
Add the kale and the tortellini and cook for another 5-7 min. Taste and salt if necessary.  I did not need to add any additional salt. 

Serve in a big bowl, topped with the pesto.  You could also grate some Parmesan cheese on top to serve. 

 It was delicious! It was a lot of vegetables to buy, but I was able to eat the leftovers all week.  It made at least 7-8 servings. 
Enjoy!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Seared Sea Scallops over Quinoa Pilaf

Tonight was an easy meal to make for one.  I picked up some sea scallops and decided to make a quinoa pilaf with ingredients I had on hand - pine nuts, dried cranberries, frozen peas, and rosemary from the roofdeck.
Here's what I used:
-4 sea scallops
-1/2 cup quinoa
-2 TB pine nuts
-1/4 cup frozen peas
-1/4 cup dried cranberries
-1 sprig of rosemary
Total prep / cooking time: 10 min.

First I got the quinoa going, as that takes the longest.  Add it to a pot with 1 cup of water (or the same ratio for the amount you need.) and get it started.  You can also use broth (vegetable or chicken) for extra flavor, but I wasn't sure how the saltiness would pair with the cranberries, so I just used water.
I also added the frozen peas directly to the boiling pot (though I should have added them a bit later - they cooked a bit too long.)
Then I toasted the pine nuts just slightly in a small pan (the same one that I will use for the scallops.) Make sure to stir them while they cook and pull them off as soon as they start to brown.  Set aside and add to pilaf right after it is done cooking.
Then rinse the sea scallops, remove the mussel on the side and discard (you CAN eat it, but it's really tough) and pat them very dry with a paper towel.  Add some salt and pepper to the scallops and get the small pan very, very hot.  Add 1 TB of butter - butter should start to brown nearly immediately if the pan is hot enough.  Then add the sea scallops and do not touch them for 2-3 minutes.
Then flip them just once, and let the second side cook on high for one minute.  Then turn the heat down and let them cook for 2-3 more minutes until they are just opaque.
Once all of the liquid is absorbed in the quinoa, stir in the cranberries, rosemary, and pine nuts and serve the scallops on top.
Et Voila! Easy, fast, and healthy.  Enjoy!

Monday, October 3, 2011

Linguine and Meatballs with Homemade Tomato Sauce

Hello everyone! Sorry for my conspicuous absence... work got a little crazy combined with sending me out to LA.  It was a great chance to catch up with great friends who I haven't seen in far too long.  Andrew and Tuany took me to the coolest restaurant I've been to in a long time, Bazaar, and I'm now re-inspired to find more of those gems in NYC!
So after a long day of being outside on what felt like the first real fall day in quite some time, hubs and I both had a craving for old school spaghetti and meatballs.  I went with linguine and meatballs, actually, and after a bit of time (maybe an hour?), this was a delicious take on an old favorite.  Adapted on the go from, of course, my trusty Epicurious app.  What would I do without it?!?

Here's what I used:
For the sauce:
2 28-oz cans of whole San Marzano tomatoes, with the juice
1 really large yellow onion or 2 smaller yellow onions
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 tsp salt
For the meatballs:
1 lb ground beef or other ground meat of your choice
1 cup breadcrumbs - I used the Italian mix
1/3 cup chopped parsley
salt and pepper
2 eggs
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup ground parmesan (not shredded - I actually chopped up a block of parm really, really finely since I didn't have ground on hand)
1/3 cup milk

And of course, your pasta.  I only cook what I think we'll eat and then I just have to make the pasta fresh with the leftover meatballs and it tastes like brand new.

To begin, you want to get the sauce started.  Get a large stock pot out and add both cans of tomatoes.  In all the cooking shows I have watched over the years, cooks swear by San Marzano tomatoes, and I have bought into the hype.  I have no idea if they are better than the domestic or not, and they are more expensive, unfortunately.  If someone loves a domestic brand, I would love the name.  I do think the San Marzanos give it that New York pizzeria taste, so I cough up the extra $2-3 bucks a can.  Then I quartered my large yellow onion.  I diced one quarter, and threw the other 3 quarters in there whole (you will remove them and discard later - if that bothers you, then dice finely and add to the sauce.)  Add the 1/4 cup of butter (half a stick) and get the sauce going to a nice simmer and start on the meatballs.

 In a big bowl, add the breadcrumbs and the milk together and stir until combined.  Let this stand for 10 min while you prep the rest of the ingredients. Monitor to see if you have excess milk.  My breadcrumbs absorbed all of the milk, but I did not use fresh breadcrumbs.  I used store-bought Italian blend. If you have extra milk, then combine the rest of these in a separate bowl so you can drain the milk out later.

 To my breadcrumb mixture, I added the chopped parsley, salt and pepper, and parmesan.

Now it's time to incorporate the meat.  I had been hoping to do a ground beef / ground turkey or pork blend (which I think would be delicious) but I got caught walking home in the rain without an umbrella, so ducked into the only nearby grocery store - the Korean market - which didn't have anything but ground beef.
Anyway, put one pound of whatever combination of ground meat you like in a separate bowl.  In a glass measuring cup, I cracked 2 eggs and whisked in the chopped garlic. Add that to the meat and combine thoroughly.  Then add the meat mixture to the breadcrumb mixture.
   Before you roll the meatballs, get the sauce ready.  By now, it's probably been on the stove for about 30 minutes.  So take out the big pieces of onion and discard.  I then used an immersion blender to make the sauce nice and smooth, but I think that is more of an aesthetic thing than a requirement.  An immersion blender is so easy to use and makes the sauce nice and silky.  Look at it steaming away!


Once you are ready, start rolling the meatballs into golf ball sized meatballs and add straight to the sauce.  Make sure they are in one layer on top of the sauce.  Once you are done, cover the pot and let simmer for 15-20 more minutes.  Get the pasta going once the meatballs are done and cook according to the package directions.
Once that is done, plate the pasta, the sauce, the meatballs, and top with freshly grated parmesan.  Enjoy! This fed 3, with plenty of leftovers.  It would probably feed up to 6-8.